New Blog Alert...

The reason why my profile has changed is because I'm setting up a new blog to track progress towards the Island Games and beyond. Check it out at:

www.manxtriboy.blogspot.com

-AC

Back to work again

Well it didn't take long to get back into work again. My 'phone has been kept busy with clients ringing up needing work done yesterday. Doh! Bit of a shock to the system anyway.

Training is going well too. Won the Ramsey Park run on Friday night and posted a PB of 21.09 for the four mile course. Must have done something right in NZ!

I'm trying to decide on a blog or a website to keep a log of my training. I suspect a blog will be much easier and feel I'll go down that route.

Gem, if you're reading this, I've lost your email! Please let me know it manxtriboy@hotmail.com!

Over and out for now...

-AC

Back in the UK!

Jet-lagged to fook following a stint of close to 48 hours awake, crossing multiple timezones and a big ocean, I'm back home in the UK.

It felt good as I went through the "British Passports" part of immigration control at Heathrow, good to hear familiar accents again, and oh to see Marks & Spencer again! (hmm)

I'm staying in Reigate with my mate Darren, an exiled Manx lad that I went to school with. Have pretty much been taking it easy watching DVD's, chatting about the good old days and our new stories. Great to see him again!

Tomorrow I'll be back on the Isle of Man. My journey will be over but I'll be glad to see my family and friends and my Island of course! Not so keen on the idea of returning to work though - but needs must.

Looking forward to testing what effect cycling 5,000km in 4 months has had on my triathlon prowess. With the Island Games in 82 days, it's going to be an interesting summer!

I'll be discontinuing this blog soon. Instead, I'm thinking about keeping a Island Games training diary online. So, I'll finish with this picture taken by my touring bud Baz: this was the dream; we lived it!

-AC

Port Hadlock Pictures

Here's some pictures from the area that Matty lives, Port Hadlock, WA.

Top: Suffering from withdrawal symptoms from cycling I decided to swallow my pride and have a crack on an old Peugeot bike. Yes it's a woman's bike. Note the daffodils in the background, a strange sight after being used to moving into autumn in NZ.

Middle: Matty's chosen art form - traditional wooden boatbuilding. Inspiring stuff!

Bottom: Nice view taken from Marrowstone Island.

-AC

Seattle Pictures

As promised, here are some more US pictures.

Top: Looking down on the "disagreeing" orientation (due to a dispute between colonial landowners) of Seattle's grid-pattern layout from the Space Needle.

Middle: Me in front of Music Museum. I liked the shiny purple background!

Bottom: Matty looking pensive in front of the Internation Fountain.

-AC

Livin' it up!

Here's a story for you: Matty & I decided to go into Seattle yesterday for a day trip and a skeet up the Space Needle, a 600ft 'spaceship' that towers above the city and features a revolving restaurant.

Whilst at the top, around 5pm, Matt said, "I'm not too sure what time the buses finish going back to Port Hadlock, we best get a shift on yessir!" Port Hadlock is where Matt goes to School for his Wooden Boat Building course, and to get there from Seattle, you have to get a ferry, then a bus, followed by another bus.

We managed to get the first bus, but unfortunately that's as far as we got! To a little place called Poulsbo, about 20 miles (and a 100 dollar taxi ride) shy of Matty's house is where our buses ran out. We tried hitch hiking but because it's illegal (as is walking on the freeway) we sacked it off and instead managed to book into a nearby Holiday Inn Express for half price because the nice lady at reception took pity on us.

And that pic' above is of us silly buggers taking a spa at 9:45pm at the hotel. The air temp was probably around 5 degrees but it was 'sweet as' in the water! My how we laughed.

Aside from missed buses, spa baths and continental breakfasts NW America can be (if I was harsh) summarised by: Conservative Christian Purists who drive around in Dodge Ram 4 by 4s with bumper signs proclaiming "Stop Global Whining" as their vehicles single-handledly destroy the world despite their instance to stick profusely to the conservative speed limits on roads lined almost invariably of pine and fir trees.

It is actually a very scenic part of the world and the re-occurrence of Spring and cold fresh air is a nice contrast to New Zealand's rather more humid and (almost) tropical air.

Will have more pictures of America later.

-AC

Wearing Jeans Again

And here I am, taken this morning wearing jeans for the first time in 85 days. Things feel a little strange, like something is missing. But I won’t dwell upon it; there is much to keep me busy over the next 3 days, because on Saturday I fly to the US to see my long-lost brother Matty, something I’m looking forward to greatly.

-AC